Dental bowl support construction



Sept. 29,1970

Filed Sept. 8, 1967 J- A. MAURER TAL DENTAL BOWL SUPPORT CONSTRUCTION 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 0 I I I! W mwmmig INVENTORS' Mmr a f m/ J. A. MAURER ETAL DENTAL BOWL SUPPORT CONSTRUCTION Filed Sept. 8, 1967 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 v INVENTORS I g} John/AMau/rw 5 KemwthR.

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ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,530,513 DENTAL BOWL SUPPORT CONSTRUCTION John A. Maurer and Kenneth R. Lappin, Canton, Ohio, assignors, by mesne assignments, to The Weber Dental Manufacturing Company, a corporation of Delaware Filed Sept. 8, 1967, Ser. No. 666,382 Int. Cl. A61c 19/00 US. Cl. 4-263 13 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A sliding support for a dental bowl unit which is adapted to be wall mounted. The support includes two parallel bar members which carry a yoke having linear bearings. The yoke supports an arm which carries a dental bowl. The yoke also supports an enclosure having the necessary plumbing facilities to supply the dental bowl with water and the other necessary facilities.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the invention This invention relates to dental equipment and more particularly the invention relates to a wall mounted dental bowl support which permits variable placing and adjustment of the position of a dental bowl unit used by dentists in oflices or by dental college facilities.

Description of the prior art Dental bowls are a necessary part of the equipment used in the dental office. In the past, these bowls have normally been mounted on a pedestal located adjacent to one of the chair arms to provide easy access for the patient in the dental chair. The plumbing for these bowls normally is housed in the pedestal. In most cases, the dental bowl is located adjacent to the left arm of the dentist chair, and is normally permanently mountedand is not adjustable as to position. Although the dentist chair is normally adjustable in terms of height and back placement, the position of the bowl relative to the chair is a permanent or fixed one.

Such an arrangement is fairly satisfactory for the right-handed person but does not provide the flexibility which may be desired in such dental installations, as for example a dental college. Further, in such installations as a dental college where there is a large number of dental chair installations, each one requiring a bowl, the necessary plumbing becomes quite complicated.

Furthermore, since these pedestals are normally mounted on the floor in a fixed position, they provide an impediment to patient access throughout the entire range of the chair. That is, there are certain positions at which the dentist may not stand while trying to perform functions on the patient, and his access or positions of access to the patient is limited by the fact that the bowl pedestal and associated equipment are located in a fixed position adjacent to the chair.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION Objectives of the invention include the provision of a wall mounted dental bowl unit which is flexible in position both in terms of horizontal movement and vertical movement; the provision of a dental bowl unit that includes the necessary plumbing facilities integrally therewith and supplies the bowl through an arm upon which the bowl is mounted; and by providing a dental bowl unit construction which is substantially more flexible than prior bowl construction and which achieves the objects simply, effectively and inexpensively, and which avoids existing difficulties and satisfies existing needs.

These objects and advantages are obtained by the wall mounted dental bowl unit construction, the general nature of which may be stated as including a mounting means for a pair of parallel spaced bars, a yoke means having linear bearings mounted therein slidable along the parallel bars, a first arm member attached to the yoke means, a second arm member pivotally connected to the first arm member, a third arm member pivotally connected to the third arm member, and a dental bowl connected to the third arm member. The construction also includes a plumbing supply facility which is carried on the yoke means including water supply, a drain and a vacuum supply line.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS A preferred embodiment of the inventionillustr ative of the best mode in which applicants have contemplated applying the principlesis set forth and shown in the drawings and is particularly and distinctly pointed out and set forth in the appended claims.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a dental unit having a wall mounted dental bowl construction embodying the principles of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the sliding support for DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT A wall mounted dental unit incorporating the improved wall mounted bowl construction of the present invention is shown in FIG. 1, and includes a wall unit generally in dicated at 1, a tray arm assembly generally indicated at 2, a foot control unit generally indicated at 3, and a dental bowl assembly generally indicated at 4. All of the facilities necessary for the performance of the usual dentists operations are included in these four components.

The tray and arm assembly 2 includes provisions for mounting the usual dental handpieces 5 and 6 and a syringe 7, and the controls for these pieces of equipment may be included within a housing 8 and a portion of the tray assembly underneath the tray 9. The tray and its locations are adjustable both horizontally and vertically by pivoted arrangements which are provided in the supporting arm at different locations.

Foot control 3 includes the necessary switches and other control devices which permit the dentist to operate and control the dental handpieces which he may be using at the time while remote from the other control points provided in the assembly.

The bowl and arm assembly generally indicated at 4 is mounted on the wall unit 1 and includes the usual facilities associated with a dental bowl which are a vacuum line, water supply line, a water supply for flushing the bowl, and a waste or disposal line to carry away material deposited in the bowl.

The wall unit generally indicated at 1, in addition to providing a housing for the various items of electrical equipment associated with the entire dental unit, also houses a sliding support at the lower end thereof for the dental bowl. This provides a means for adjusting the position of the bowl with respect to the patients chair to any position the particular dentist involved may desire.

The supporting construction for the dental bowl includes a first mounting means and second mounting means 21 which have extending therebetween a pair of parallel bars 22 and 23. Bars 22 and 23 may be of any length desired and may be attached or mounted on mounting means 20 and 21 by any suitable method. Yoke member 24 is mounted on parallel bars 22 and 23 and is slidable from any position along the bars between mounting member 20 and mounting member 21. Mounting members 20 nad 21 are attached to a slide mounting 25 by any convenient means such as a screw assembly 26. Slide mounting member 25, as best seen in FIG. 3, is actually mounted adjacent to the wall 27 of the room in which the entire assembly is located.

Yoke member 24 has an upper bearing mounting portion 28 which provides a mounting for a linear bearing assembly 29 and a pair of lower bearing mounting portions 30 which house identical linear bearing assemblies 29. The yoke member 24 also includes an arm mounting portion 31 which extends downwardly from the bearing mounting portions 30 and a web portion 32 which extends between the upper bearing mounting portion 28 and the two lower bearing mounting portions 30.

A bracket arm 33 is mounted on arm mounting portion 31 and extends outwardly from the assembly. The bowl arm bracket 33 is provided with a pivot 34 at its outer end to provide a means of pivotally mounting the bowl arm 36 to the yoke 24 and bracket arm 33. Dental bowl assembly 4 is attached to arm 36. Arm 36 is provided with several pivots which are located adjacent to the bowl at one position and adjacent to the bracket arm at another position to provide vertical adjustment for the bowl location.

The dental bowl assembly 4 requires plumbing facilities including a water supply line, a vacuum line, a second water supply line for flushing the bowl and a waste or drain line for carrying away water and other material which is discharged into the dental bowl. The first water supply line is to provide a water syringe for the dentist to use in the performance of his functions. The vacuum line is uSed to keep a patients mouth dry during the performance of dental operations. These supply lines are connected to supply lines located inside cover 37 and connect to the central plumbing supply system. Each of the four required plumbing lines is comprised of a form of flexible tubing which passes through cover 37 into an elongated outer cover member 38. The water supply for the bowl and the waste or drain line are located within cover 38, and are formed of flexible tubing. They pass through aperture in the upper portion of cover 38 and are enclosed within tubular cover 39 which extends along arm 36 and connects to the bottom portion of the bowl to supply the bowl with flushing water and a drain in the usual manner.

Cover assembly 38 is attached to the bottom of bracket arm 33 by passing screws 41 through holes formed in the upper flange 42 of cover 38 into threaded holes formed in bracket arm 33. Thus, cover assembly 38, together with the plumbing lines which are contained within the cover and which pass through the cover to the dental bowl assembly, are movable along with the bowl.

Referring specifically to FIG. 5, a drag adjustment means is illustrated which is provided as a part of the present invention to provide adjustment for the degree of friction with which yoke 24 is movable along parallel bars 22 and 23. Even though the weight of the bowl and 7 arm and plumbing assemblies may be quite substantial, without some form of friction, the yoke would move too freely to permit steady positioning of the bowl. Some effort should be required to move the bowl to the adjustable positions desired and some steadiness is required so that bumping will not move the bowl from the position desired.

The drag member includes an elongated tubular member 45 which extends through the central portion of 4 bracket arm 33 and which is aligned with the bottom of parallel bar 23. A drag button member 46 is located within tubular member 45, and the lower end of tubular member 45 is threaded to receive a set screw 47. A coil spring 48 is positioned within tubular member 45 between drag button 46 and set screw 47. In the assembled position, as shown in FIG. 5, drag button 46 which is contoured to match bar 23, will bear upon parallel bar 23 and exert friction. The amount of drag or friction can be adjusted by adjusting the position of set screw 47 to compress spring 48 which in turn will cause drag button 46 to bear on bar 23 with the desired amount of force.

In operation the dental bowl support of the present invention may, as indicated above, be adjustable at any selected position between support member 20 and support member 21. In the usual dental setup the wall mounted unit of the present invention will be placed at a position facing the usual dentists chair. Dental bowl 4 may be positioned at any point convenient to the dentist who is performing dental functions upon a patient in the chair. For example, if it is desired to place the dental bowl at the left side of the chair as the dentist faces the wall unit the yoke member carrying the bowl may be positioned in the extreme left-hand side of parallel bars 21 and 22, and the bowl placed at the proper vertical height so that it is convenient to the patient in the chair. If on the other hand the dentist wishes to stand at that position which is the normal position that a bowl would be located, the dentist may move the yoke member carrying the bowl to the extreme right-hand portion of the parallel bars, swing the arm over to the other side of the chair and position the bowl on the right-hand side of the dentists chair. Any position in between the extreme right and extreme left can be accomplished by moving and positioning the yoke member which carries the arm and bowl assembly to whatever position the dentist might desire.

Furthermore, if the dentist wishes to place the bowl at some place completely remote from the chair he can easily do so by swinging the arm and bowl all the way to a position substantially parallel to the wall unit.

In the bowl construction illustrated the plumbing connections and lines necessary to supply the bowl with the necessary facilities are contained within cover 37. These are not illustrated since they comprise standard equipment well known in the art. However, these plumbing facilities are connected to flexible tubing which are located within cover 38. Cover 38, being attached to bracket arm 33, is movable along with bracket arm 33 and yoke 24 as it is moved to an adjusted position. Cover member 38 is long enough so that it entirely covers the connections through which the flexible tubing passes when the bowl is moved from one position to another. Thus, the cover adds aesthetic appeal to the wall mounted unit and unsightly plumbing connections are not displayed to a patient sitting in the dental chair.

It should be noted that, if desired, the wall mounted unit of the present invention could be placed on a pedestal in the center of a room. Thus, it is not necessary that the support construction of the present invention be mounted directly on a wall even though this is the preferred procedure in the usual dentist oflice. In those installations such as a dental college where a large number of dental chairs and associated equipment assemblies are placed within one room, it may be preferabl to provide some form of upright support together with the plumbing fadentists chair and mount the wall mounted unit on such upright support. The dental bowl so mounted would have the same degree of flexibility as if the bowl were mounted on a wall as in a dentists oflice.

The important aspect of the present invention is the provision of a sliding support which permits the flexible positioning of a dental bowl with respect to the dental chair. Thus, the dentist may, as desired, position the dental bowl at any place convenient to the performance of his functions. Further, the provision of the construction of the present invention permits a more flexible and conveniene dental installation since a permanent pedestal is not present to interfere with the dentist having access to all positions around a dental chair.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness and understanding; but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art, because such terms are used for descriptive purposes and are intended to be broadly construed.

Moreover, the description and illustration of the invention is by way of example and the scope of the invention is not limited to the exact details of the particular components shown or described.

Having now described the features, discoveries and principles of the invention, the manner in which the improved wall mounted dental bowl support construction is assembled and operated, the advantageous new and useful results obtained, the new and useful structures, de vices, elements, arrangements, parts and combinations and mechanical equivalents obvious to those skilled in the art are set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. Sliding support construction for a dental bowl including means mounting a pair of horizontally disposed parallel bars on an upright support, yoke means slidably mounted on the parallel bars, a vertical pivot connected to said yoke means, a link connected to said vertical pivot, vertically adjustable arm means mounted on the yoke means through said vertical pivot and link, and a dental bowl pivotally mounted on the arm means whereby the bowl position is adjustable by sliding movement of the yoke.

2. Sliding support construction for a dental bowl as defined in claim 1 in which said upright support member includes the wall of a building in which said support is located.

3. Sliding support construction as defined in claim 1 in which said upright support member is an upright 40 pedestal.

4. Sliding support construction as defined in claim 1 in which said yoke means has linear bearing means mounted therein and in which said yoke member moves on said parallel bars by sliding on said linear bearings.

5. Sliding support construction as defined in claim 1 in which said yoke means includes drag means, said drag means located to bear upon one of said parallel bars whereby said yoke means travel is retarded by friction exerted by said drag means.

6. Sliding support construction as defined in claim 1 in which said yoke member has bearing means mounted therein, in which said yoke means slides on said bearings, and in which said yoke means has drag means mounted therein, said drag means bearing upon one of 5 said parallel bars to provide friction to retard movement of the yoke means on said parallel bars.

7. Sliding support construction as defined in claim 6 in which said drag means is adjustable whereby the amount of friction exerted by said drag means is adjustable.

8.Sliding support construction as defined in claim 1 in which said yoke means has a bracket arm member attached thereto, and in which said arm is attached to said bracket arm, a cover member attached to said bracket arm, and said cover enclosing plumbing facilities for supplying the dental bowl with plumbing facilities.

9. Sliding support construction for a dental bowl including means mounting a pair of horizontally disposed parallel bars on an upright frame, yoke means slidably mounted on the. parallel bars, adjustable drag means on said yoke means, said drag means located to bear upon one of said parallel bars whereby said yoke means travel is retarded by friction exerted by said drag means, bearing, means mounted in said yoke means, said yoke means sliding on said bearings, vertically adjustable arm means mounted on the yoke means, and a dental bowl mounted on the arm means whereby the bowl position is adjustable by sliding movement of the yoke.

10. Sliding support construction for a dental bowl as defined in claim 9 in which said upright support member includes the wall of a building in 'which said support is located.

11. Sliding support construction as defined in claim 9 in which said upright support member is an upright pedestal.

12. Sliding support construction as defined in claim 9 in which said yoke means has linear bearing means mounted therein and in which said yoke member moves on said parallel bars by sliding on said linear bearings.

13. Sliding support construction as defined in claim 9 in which said yoke means has a bracket arm member attached thereto, and in which said arm is attached to said bracket arm, a cover member attached to said bracket arm, and said covers enclosing plumbing facilities for supplying the dental bowl with plumbing facilities.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 790,207 5/1905 Holtz 312-209 XR 892,612 7/ 1908 ONeill 248279 2,903,047 9/ 1959 Funyak 248430 2,980,479 4/1961 Brown 312-71 3,418,714 12/ 1968 Pietschmann 32-22 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,041,206 10/ 1958 Germany.

128,651 6/ 1950 Sweden.

LAVERNE D. GEIGER, Primary Examiner H. K. ARTIS, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

